Water restrictions are likely to stay with us year-round

Rain or shine, flood or drought: twice-a-week watering limits appear to be here to stay for South Florida.

To protect strained supplies, South Florida's top water managers on Thursday endorsed year-round watering restrictions intended to make conservation a permanent part of life.

The proposal from the South Florida Water Management District goes before the agency's governing board for a formal vote in June and by the fall would replace the existing temporary watering limits, triggered by two years of drought.

Despite objections from utilities that face declines in water sales under the new limits, the district's board allowed the proposal to move forward.

"People are learning to live with water restrictions," board member Charles Dauray said. "People want to be part of the solution."

The year-round watering limits would mirror temporary restrictions in place since April 18. Odd-numbered addresses would continue to water on Wednesdays and Saturdays and even-numbered addresses could water on Thursdays and Sundays. On the designated days, watering would be prohibited between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to avoid evaporation.

Many of the utilities that provide South Florida's drinking water say the limits go too far and have called for at least three days of watering.

Utilities also say that revenue lost to limiting landscape watering will end up as costs passed on to ratepayers to cover expenses for water plants and pipes. In addition, utilities contend that for safety reasons they have to keep water flowing through pipes and limiting watering to two days could leave them dumping usable water.

The district doesn't have "a shred of authority" to impose year-round restrictions, said John Fumero, an attorney representing Fort Lauderdale.

The district backtracked on plans to place limits on the use of recycled water - treated wastewater once billed as a drought-proof irrigation alternative.

Last month the district called for making recycled wastewater, also called reuse and reclaimed water, subject to the same twice-a-week watering limits as water pumped from the ground or pulled from lakes and canals.

Utilities that invested in pipes and treatment facilities to deliver recycled water to golf courses and subdivisions objected, saying the district urged them to pursue alternative water supplies.

Heeding those concerns, the new proposal would allow using the treated wastewater seven days a week, but watering would be prohibited between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Without places to store wastewater, it doesn't make sense to limit the days it can be used, board member Shannon Estenoz said.

The district in June plans to decide if the customers of utilities using alternative water supplies, such as deeper more plentiful underground sources, and those that blend water from different sources should be allowed to water three times a week or more.

The new twice-a-week rules would bring South Florida in line with standards in Central and northeast Florida, a step mandated by Crist's administration.

Andy Reid can be reached at abreid@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5504.

INFORMATIONAL BOX:

Tap into water stories: For recently published stories, video reports, interactive graphics and to find out more about water restrictions in your area, go to Sun-Sentinel.com/waterrestrictions